Page 59 of Bad Seed

“I’m saving my tart for later,” Harley said, and got up to put her tart in the fridge, then turned around just as Brendan ate his tart in two bites.

When he caught her smiling, he shrugged. “I have never been completely full in my entire life, so if there’s food in front of me, I eat it.”

“It’s those long legs of yours,” she said. “Impossible to fill up, I guess. And I cannot imagine how your mother kept four of you fed.”

“Some days she didn’t eat. We didn’t know it at the time because we were just kids. Aaron figured it out when he got older. After that, we all refused to eat until she had food on her plate, too.”

Harley’s eyes welled. “Sometimes your stories make me cry. Other times, I have this overwhelming urge to hug away all your bad memories.”

Brendan stood up and opened his arms.

“We’re all huggers in my family. I would treasure one of yours.”

Harley didn’t hesitate. She walked into his embrace, laid her cheek on his chest, and wrapped her arms around him. It was like hugging a mountain of man and muscle, and she’d never felt so safe.

Her curls were right beneath Brendan’s chin. They were as thick and soft as he’d imagined, and the moment she was in his arms, it felt familiar, like she’d been made to fit. He wanted to kiss her, but all she’d offered was a hug, and that was enough.

Then she turned loose and stepped back. “That felt exactly like I thought it would. And selfishly, I needed your hug more. Thank you.”

Brendan ran the back of his finger down the side of her cheek.

“That which is given freely needs no thanks, but repeats are always welcome. You need to rest, so I’ll take myself home.”

They put all of their plates back on the food cart, and Brendan wheeled it out into the hall. “Lock yourself in, lady. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Talk to you tomorrow?” she asked.

“Count on it,” he said, and pulled the door shut after himself, then waited until he heard all the locks turn and the safety chain jingle before leaving.

Harley was still thinking about Brendan when she went to run her bath. She was hoping the jets in the Jacuzzi would help ease the muscles in her neck and shoulders, but the moment she stripped and felt the air on her skin, she shuddered.

What would it be like to make love to that man?

She sensed a fire within him he had yet to reveal. He’d already shown her who he was. A man rooted to the place of his ancestors, while she had no roots andno familial bond with her own parents, let alone any unknown ancestors. Instinct told her that he would take everything she was willing to give, and return it a thousandfold. But she doubted herself, and doubted her ability to find a place in this world of his.

***

Brendan was standing in the shower, letting the heat and force of the hot water pelt the muscles in his back and shoulders. He was tired from the day’s work and aching with a want that might never be fulfilled. He didn’t know how to make love to her and then let her go. He wanted her, but he was also falling in love. Then he reminded himself. The bigger issue here was keeping her alive.

***

Brendan was off to work before daylight. There was bread dough to start, and hungry people to feed, but his mind was still on the dream he’d had last night.

One moment he’d been dreaming about a fish market in New York City, when the dream morphed, and he was in the banquet room of the Serenity Inn, at Sean and Amalie’s wedding reception, and the music changed from a two-step to a waltz, and Aunt Ella came out of the crowd, still wearing the blue dress she’d worn to Sean and Amalie’s wedding and reached for him, putting both hands upon his shoulders.

Dance with me, Brendan. Just like we did before.

So, he took her in his arms, feeling the fragility of her tall, willowy body as they began waltzing around the dance floor. She was holding on to him for balance as they began, and he was taking care not to go too fast, when he realized that her snow-white hair was turning black, and the crown of braids she always wore was coming undone. They were moving faster now as he watched the thick, dark hair falling across her shoulders and down her back. He was seeing her skin lose all the wrinkles and her blue eyes sparkle with the burst of youth, and seeing her as who she’d been before the years left their marks on her face. And then all of a sudden, the music stopped, and the young Ella was still in his arms when she leaned forward and whispered in his ear.

My darling boy. Don’t be like me and get left behind. Dare to love. Take the chance. She’s worth it.

Her sorrow pierced him like an arrow to the heart, and then she was gone. He woke up with tears on his face and realized she’d just told him something no Pope living ever knew.

The reason why Ella Pope never married. She’d loved once, wholly, deeply, and for whatever reason, she hadn’t seized the moment and lost him forever. Brendan didn’t want that to be him, holding on to the fear of loss, rather than giving himself permission to dare fate. To take chances with love.

If there’d ever been love between Clyde Wallace and Shirley Pope, it was gone by the time he’d been born.He knew how relationships were supposed to work, but it was the thought of falling in love with Harley and then losing her that was holding him back.

Ella came with a message, reminding him that if he did nothing, then she was already lost. So, when he pulled into the employee parking lot at the hotel, he was ready for this day and for whatever it took to keep her safe. After that, he was playing the hand as Harley dealt it and would make peace with the end result.

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